A Dance of Two Houses
by Frostedrose
Summary: Alice returns from Iris only to find that her family is not a 'normal' as it seems. With younger siblings set to follow her back to Iris, normal parents that must not know about their children's magical abilities, and a budding relationship with her accidental husband will she be able to keep her two lives from colliding while keeping her family together?
1. Chapter 1

_I tried to stay as close to the information in game as possible, with the exception that the main character has a family that includes younger siblings. Please enjoy._

…..

It was said that more business was done in The Spiral Gate's Gentleman's Club than there was at the actual seat of government. This February evening it was likely the case as two wizards, normally political rivals, were having one of their rare conversations beside a fireplace in one of the private rooms.

The room was well appointed, in a fashion that Sherlock Homes would have found familiar, save that the lamps on the walls were lit with magical flames. One of the wizards in question was a lean man with salt and pepper hair, clean-shaven, and he sported well-tailored black robes. The most obvious clue to his wealth was a signet ring that bore the image of a scale with stacks of coins on one side, and a large gem on the other. The other wizard was bald, and most politely described as rotund. A well-kept white beard was in place, presumably to obscure his multiple chins.

"To what do I owe the pleasure of your invitation tonight, Lord Grabiner?" the lean man asked after pouring himself a whiskey.

"Nothing terribly political Lord Carleton…not that you generally like my ideas anyway…. This is more of a personal triumph," Grabiner replied, sipping his own whiskey.

"You finally convinced your son to take over and allow you to retire?" Carleton asked. "If that is indeed the case, perhaps I may soon be in a position to find his ideas more palatable than your own."

Grabiner chuckled. "Close, quite close, but no. The next best thing, I'm afraid. A young witch has finally managed to drag that recalcitrant boy to the alter."

Carleton did not blink, or show any sign of surprise. "I take it that the girl's Wildseed upbringing does not bother you now as it did when your son was younger?"

"You have heard already," Grabiner sighed. "One does grow more desperate with age. Truthfully, any healthy young woman with the ability to behave herself in public and keep Hieronymous interested long enough to produce an heir would be superb…." His eyes narrowed. "I do not recall telling anyone that she was a Wildseed."

Carleton now allowed himself a small smile. "Headmistress Potsdam informed my bank of your daughter-in-law's name change for legal reasons."

Grabiner frowned and sat back in his chair. "If she has some account in your bank, she is not a Wildseed," he stated.

"That would be logical," Carleton agreed. "However, due to privacy concerns, you will understand if I leave her history to your imagination."

"Of course," Grabiner agreed.

It was not unusual for parents to choose to continue to live in the Otherworld, even after they had born children. But for the children themselves not to know that their parents were magical…. Vagabonds might abandon a child in the mortal world, but were unlikely to set up an account in the wizard Bank. This left the possibility that the girl's identity possibly either made her dangerous to others or that it was dangerous to her own person…unless she was simply an orphan.

He suppressed a sigh, hoping that it would not be too much of a complication, but he had meant what he had said. The girl could be half-demon and he would not complain as long as she could produce a grandchild for him.

"And," Carleton continued, "you will understand if I wait to congratulate you, as the marriage contract in question is, after all, only for one year."

Grabiner gave a smile through clenched teeth. "Naturally," he replied, hating that the other man apparently knew more about the situation than he, himself, did.

...

Alice wiped the sweat off her brow with her forearm, as the July sun beat down while she weeded the garden. She wore a wide-brimmed hat to protect her fair skin, and her long dark red hair had been pulled back into a low pony-tail. Her gloves and jeans were already caked with dirt, and her 'dirty job' shirt had also seen better days.

She had volunteered for the task, mostly for the solitude it gave. After all, her four younger siblings could make so much noise it was hard to think…especially the twins. Given that it was their birthday today, they would undoubtedly have something noisy planned.

Her next younger sibling, Clark, would be going to Iris with her in the fall. Out of all of her family, she actually got along with Clark the best. They were both studious, somewhat introverted, and had many of the same tastes. She wondered how he would react to being "Professor Grabiner's brother-in-law."

Alice inwardly cringed. She had not told Clark about her marriage yet. She did not like hiding things from her family, Clark least of all. He had caught her reading one of her husband's letters, and she had passed it off as 'a letter from a friend at school,' which was technically true. Then he had pointed out that she was much better at keeping a correspondence with this 'Hieronymous' person than she was her own family during this last school year. Blushing at that exact moment had not helped, but Clark had only grinned and promised not to announce her boyfriend to the family until she was ready to do so. As long as she brought her healer to the MMORPG raid he and his guild had planned that Saturday.

She had decided that the trade had been more than generous.

It still left the question of how…and what…to tell her brother. She knew that she could claim her husband's friendship, but after their discussion on the day of the May dance, there was possibly more she could claim. She could not claim that they were dating, as that would require that they had actually been on a date. Hieronymous buying her a cup of tea and then curtailing her attempt at conversation did not count. He _had_ kissed her, though. It had not been a lover's kiss; it had felt more like a…beginning.

The man was an onion. She had to remove layer by layer carefully to get to know him, but she knew at the core of him was a good man that did his best to protect others. After all, just because fate chooses something for you did not mean that it was bad. She was quite willing to put the extra effort in to see if her accidental husband was indeed the love of her life, even though he was older than her.

In some ways, Alice considered her husband's age an advantage rather than a disadvantage. She would not have to attempt to raise him, as she considered most boys her age terribly immature. As the oldest child in her family, she had often been tasked with tending the younger children. Diapers, feeding, cooking, breaking up fights, cleaning, telling bedtime stories…she had done it all.

Then there was the year their mother had cancer while pregnant with Nancy, her youngest sister. Her father had had to go to work early in the morning at the post office, leaving twelve-year-old Alice to ensure that the twins, Clark, and herself were ready to go to school and then help with the housework in the evenings after her homework had been completed. She had continued this until her mother had sufficiently recovered.

Her mother had elected to wait until Nancy had been born to start her cancer treatments, and fortunately had beaten the odds to survive. Alice bit her lip, wondering how many women had the courage her mother had had to do that. Oddly enough, her doctors had decided that her prognosis was better when pregnant than when compared to what it had been before Nancy had burst into the scene.

She sighed, pulling at a particularly difficult weed, her thoughts returning to the matter at hand. What _should _she tell her brother?

While still considering this, she was distracted by the sound of a car pulling into the driveway. It was too early for her father to be home. Instead, she saw a little blue car driven by a brightly dressed woman in a large hat.

Abandoning her chore, Alice rushed over as the door opened up and Professor Potsdam stepped out of the vehicle. "Professor," she said. "What are you…did something happen?"

Potsdam grinned. "Hieronymous did not run afoul of one of his own spells again, seedling, if that is what you mean."

Alice relaxed a little. She did have confidence in her husband's abilities, but what had happened before could happen again.

"I'm actually here to see the twins. They both managed to tumble off the roof without hurting themselves while you were away at school," Potsdam continued.

Wait. The twins had magic _too_?

"Professor," Alice started, "how common is it for a non-magic family to produce two witches?"

"Oh," Potsdam stopped walking to think. "It's very rare, but not unheard of."

"And how many would produce four Wildseeds? We aren't Wildseeds, are we?"

Potsdam smiled. "Well, you _were_ raised that way, but technically, no."

This made the next deduction obvious. "Mom or dad had magic once, but it was taken away or lost for some reason."

The professor nodded. "I'll let your grandfather explain, as it is his prerogative. I do believe Edward is planning on getting together with you and your elder three siblings this summer. I have the directions for your meeting, in fact."

"Edward?" Alice asked. "You mean great-Uncle Edward is really our grandfather?"

Great Uncle Edward was the financier that allowed them to attend private school, and then had also paid her fee at Iris. She knew very little about him, except that she was required to write him twice a year, that he was apparently rich, and that he lived in England. Her letters had thus far gone unanswered, as she had been told they would be. Instead of writing, Nancy simply drew pictures but seemed disappointed her efforts went unanswered until a doll from 'Uncle Ed' had shown up on her birthday. Alice had explained to her that the way Uncle Ed answered their letters was to send them each a present on Christmas and on their Birthday every year. This had satisfied the young child.

Potsdam nodded to her question. "Now, if you could just introduce me to Emma and Ethan?"

"Of course," Alice answered, leading her into the back of the acreage. "They're in the back, probably playing 'Insurgent and Counterinsurgent.'"

"Instead of cops and robbers?" the professor asked. "Unusual."

Alice shrugged. "Dad's a retired Navy Seal, so this family isn't exactly normal. Last week, Dad taught Clark and me how to diffuse a suitcase bomb without it exploding. He says he hopes we'll never need to know, but it's better to be safe than in tiny little pieces scattered all over the place."

The professor was saved from having to respond to this by the sight of the twins bent over what appeared to be a half-finished ghillie suit.


	2. Not seen with Eyes

Alice stared up into the darkness late at night later that week, sleep eluding her. There was just so much to think about.

The twins had chosen to enter the world of magic, but seemed disappointed that they would not start spell casting until they turned sixteen. That was just like them to want to start turning themselves invisible, burning things up, or moving them with the power of their minds as soon as possible. She hoped they could be patient enough to not try to do any of that on their own. She suspected that if they did try, their dad would suspect they had gotten into the gunpowder without either his permission or his supervision.

It would only happen once.

Still, Alice suspected she had a couple of budding Red mages on her hands.

Their grandfather had arranged a meeting that Saturday, so they would finally get to meet. Apparently there was a small wizard-owned tea-room in town that he had rented out for the occasion. She was a bit nervous about that, for several reasons.

Who was their grandfather? She really did not know anything about him. What kind of wizard was Edward Carleton, or what kind of man was he for that matter? Would he like them? Would they like him? Did he know what had happened that January morning?

Even if he did, she suspected that she would have to explain the whole ordeal for the benefit of her siblings. She had told Clark that she had had an 'accident' at school, the repercussions of which she was still dealing with, but had not gotten any farther when their mom had returned from the grocery store.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a small knock on her bedroom door. "Sissy?" a small voice asked.

Alice sighed. At least the four year old had remembered to knock. "Come in Nancy," she said, putting on her lamp so her sister would not trip over anything on the way in.

The little girl peeked around the door, and then came in shutting it softly behind her. She was dressed in a lilac nightgown, and padded carefully around the creaky floorboards in her bare feet to come and sit on Alice's bed. Nancy's long hair was so blond it was white, and she had big blue eyes. Alice guessed that her sister would be a knockout when she was grown.

"What is it?" Alice asked.

Nancy drew her legs up and hugged them. "I was having scary dreams again. Can I sleep with you?"

"What makes you think that I can keep the scary dreams away?" she asked. Her sister was almost too cute for her own good. Alice tried not to spoil her too much, but sometimes it was hard not to.

"My friends said so," Nancy answered.

Alice's eyebrows went up. "The invisible ones?" she asked, and her sister nodded.

Her sister played often with her 'invisible' friends. There were no children her age where they lived, and considering her next older siblings were thirteen now and more apt to hang her dolls than to play nicely with her, Alice did not think that 'invisible' friends were that big of a deal. However, this was the first time she had attributed any advice as from them.

"What did they tell you I could do to help you with dreams?" Alice asked, starting to get curious.

"They told me that you are getting bigger, so the bad spirits that give me scary dreams won't come near you," the child explained.

Alice considered what her sister had just told her. Maybe it was just childhood fancy, but there was also the possibility her sister possessed some measure of White magic already. A qualified mage should investigate the matter. She could write to Potsdam, but she would be seeing her grandfather in a couple of days anyway.

"Ok," Alice said, holding out the blankets so her sister could crawl under them with her. She hoped that Nancy would be too tired to kick tonight. Nancy took a few minutes to find a position she liked as Alice shut off the light and moved over in the bed. Her sister's feet were cold.

"Alice?" Nancy asked.

"Yes?" Apparently the child was not as tired as she could wish.

"When am I going to meet my new brother?"

Alice froze. Nancy could not possibly know…. She knew that she had not told anyone in her family about her marriage. She forced her body to relax, and tried to speak in as calm of a tone as she could. "A new brother? Mom isn't having a baby."

"No, not a baby," Nancy insisted, "your husband."

"Why do you think I have a husband?" she asked.

"Well…" Nancy considered. "There's a ring on your finger, but it's not the kind of ring you can feel with your fingers. It means that you're married."

"I see. Anything else?" she asked, wracking her memory for anything that sounded like this in White magic class.

"There's a…line…connecting you and him. I can sorta feel…." The child went quiet for a long minute. "He tries to protect people from hurting themselves. He's very sad sometimes, isn't he? Something very bad happened to someone and he thinks it's his fault. Are you going to make him happy again?"

This was not just a child's fancy, it was much too specific. Alice considered asking Nancy not to tell her parents that she was married, but her sister was not good at keeping secrets. On the other hand, if Nancy told them that she was wearing an invisible wedding ring and had married someone that went around protecting people they would think Nancy was making things up. It was not that Nancy lied, but she had a lively imagination. Their parents might ask if Alice had outright _said _that she was married, and Nancy would admit that she had not and that would be the end of it.

"Come on, let's go to sleep Nancy," Alice whispered, "and you can dream of your own hero coming to rescue you and carry you off into the sunset like in the movies, now that the bad dreams can't get you."

Nancy started to whine for more information, but Alice managed to lull her to sleep, humming her sister's favorite lullaby.


	3. Exhumation of the Past

That Saturday Alice, Clark, Emma, and Ethan rode their bikes into town, and chained them up in the local park indicated by the instructions Potsdam had given them.

"It says the third blue house on the left," Emma said after removing the directions from her pocket.

"There are only two blue houses, a white one, and then an empty lot," Ethan replied.

The twins, Emma and Ethan, shared their mother's dark red hair and deep blue eyes with her. Clark, like Nancy, instead had gotten their father's white-blond hair and light blue eyes.

Emma rolled her eyes at her brother. "It's supposed to be invisible until we get closer. It says so right here."

"How could I notice if you won't let me hold it?" Ethan asked.

"You'd lose it. Like that time we let you hold the tickets to the zoo."

"Enough," Alice snapped, and then she took a deep breath. "We're all a little nervous, because we don't know what to expect." She then started walking confidently toward the vacant lot.

Clark just shrugged as he walked beside her. "Should we take bets? Maybe Grandpa Ed is really a shape-changing blue jinn," he tried to joke.

"You know," Alice answered, "there's a chance there's a family servitor like that. I'm not sure if they're all blue or green, though."

Clark blinked. "I was merely being facetious. Why, is there one at school?"

"Only one I know of, and it was involved in that 'accident' I'll have to finish telling you about."

"Accident? What accident?" Emma asked. They were almost there.

"I'm not talking about it outdoors," Alice sighed.

"Well," Ethan considered, "you don't look any worse for wear. It must have not been that big of a deal."

She could not help it. Alice burst out into laughter as a blue house materialized in front of them. The way her siblings were staring at the house, though, they might not have heard her.

The tea-shop appeared to also be a bed and breakfast called "Magic's Refreshment." It appeared colonial in style, as if someone had ripped it from a history book.

"Come on," Alice said, leading her gawking siblings inside.

They were greeted by a smiling plump woman in long green dress with a starched white apron over it. "Welcome My Lord, My Lady, Sir, and Madam. If you will follow me to the tearoom, his Lordship is waiting for you."

"Yes, thank you," Alice replied with a smile, being the first to recover from their new forms of address. She had been half expecting it, after all. After finding out Hieronymous was a lord, she had started wondering what 'Lady Alice' would sound like.

Apparently their grandfather possessed titles as well. She wondered if their grandfather and Hieronymous' father were well acquainted.

As she rounded the corner into the tearoom, she saw a distinguished looking wizard seated at the head of a table already laid with various refreshments. He had salt and pepper hair that had not yet receded that much, and wore navy blue robes. He smiled as he rose from his chair, greeted them each by name, and they all sat down. The plump woman took their orders for tea and then went to fulfill them, leaving an awkward silence in her wake. Finally, the older man cleared his throat.

"I hardly know where to begin. I had been going to make myself known to at least the elder two of you during your last spring break, but your headmistress advised me that you had had enough as far as surprises were concerned, Alice."

"At that time, yes," Alice replied, "I would have had to agree with her."

He nodded. "I am Viscount Dorchester, Lord Edward Carleton, Head of "Between the Worlds Bank", as well as a Councilman. I leave whether to address me as 'Grandfather' or 'Grandpa' at your discretion."

"What does all of that mean?" Emma asked, obviously confused. After all, he had not addressed their presents from him in that fashion.

The proprietor returned with their teas, temporarily interrupting the conversation, murmuring a 'My Lord' as she left.

"Viscount," he explained, "is a hereditary rank of nobility in England. Dorchester is where the family estate is located. Carleton is the family name, and I am the director of the bank that handles exchanging currencies between this world, Otherworld, and a few other places as well. I sit on the wizard Council that writes laws concerning human or part human mages and oversees the lower courts."

Alice blinked. She had not realized that her grandfather was such a powerful man.

"Wow," Emma said, "is that why, when we got here, we got called 'My Lord, My Lady, Sir, and Madam?'"

Their grandfather nodded. "Yes, my presumptive heir would be called 'My Lord' or 'My Lady.' The non-magical 'Viscount' title would go to the oldest male, which would be Clark."

Ethan grunted, obviously disappointed.

"The Council seat and the right to either head the bank or appoint someone else to do so, however, normally would go to the oldest whether they were male or female. Children, or grandchildren, not in line for either position would be referred to as 'Sir' or 'Madam,'" he finished.

"So that's why she was calling me 'My Lord' and Alice 'My Lady,' because Alice is heir to the wizarding head of the family, and I'm heir to the non-magical part?" Clark asked.

Alice sighed. Any time now….

"Actually, that is a matter that will need to be settled in the near future, between yourself and your sister, given her situation," Grandfather answered.

"What situation?" Emma asked. "Does this have something to do with that accident you mentioned?"

"Did miss perfect mess up?" Ethan added.

She could feel her cheeks turning pink.

Her grandfather's eyebrows rose. "Headmistress Potsdam did give me the overview. You have not given your siblings details yet?"

Alice was now sure her face was as red as the cherries dotting some of the pastries.

"I…um…accidentally got married…to one of my teachers last January." She stared down at the table, but she could feel everyone's eyes on her.

"How do you 'accidentally' get married?" Ethan asked

"And to a teacher!" Emma exclaimed.

Clark was silent a few moments before asking, "Why?"

Alice took a deep breath and started to explain; how she was treasurer, and Professor Grabiner was experimenting with his manus when something had gone wrong, her stupid impulse to help, how it had tried to eat _her _before Potsdam had stepped in and declared her Grabiner's bride, the hasty wedding, which all explained how she had to be married a year so their oaths could be kept without her dying or her husband losing his magic.

After it was all out, she took some tea to wet her throat. Her siblings were still staring at her.

"Wow, does this sort of thing happen often at magic schools?" Emma asked uncertainly.

"If it does, at least send me to one where the teachers are hot," Ethan joked.

Alice sighed. "Not that I know of, Emma; and don't be ridiculous Ethan."

Clark had a more pertinent question. "Why would he have lost his magic if he had not married you, and what is a manus?"

"For the first, if a wizard of witch does not keep their Word, the payment is their magic. It is part of a treaty with other various races so they are able to trust us. Consequently, either make no promises or be sure to honor all the ones you do. As for the other…Asim," their grandfather called.

Momentarily, the air to the right of his chair began to turn blue and Alice found herself face to face with another manus.

"This is Asim, and he is bound to our family line," he explained.

"Does he take orders from all of us, or just you," Ethan asked, eyes wide.

"Does he live in a bottle?" Emma wanted to know.

Asim gave them a toothy grin as their grandfather explained.

"No, he does not live in a bottle or grant wishes like the genie in the fairy tales. He performs services within his role as a family guardian and servitor, and while you _can _give him instructions, those orders will not supersede mine. I strongly advise you to have me teach you about what can and cannot be done with Asim before you attempt to give him any orders."

"And those things eat people?" Emma whispered, obviously impressed.

Grandfather shrugged. "Some, like the one your sister ran into, do eat souls. Most, like Asim here, prefer bones."

"If I may be so bold master," e said in a deep voice, "I suggest that your successor start cultivating a taste for lamb as you have."

"I get the meat, he gets the bones, and we are both satisfied, which brings us back to the original topic." Asim faded away. Her grandfather's eyes pierced hers, but his voice was gentle. "Would you be comfortable describing the nature of your relationship with Hieronymous Grabiner, and what manner of a man he is? You can do so in private, if you wish, but I do really need to know."

Alice took another deep breath. "No, it's ok. They can hear," she started. "We haven't…shared a bed…if that's what you mean. He's a friend, I can safely say. He listens to me, most of the time, and he respects me and my opinions. The last month or so, I'd been visiting him weekly for tea, after the news of our marriage leaked out."

She paused, wondering if she should continue, and the pink was rising in her cheeks again.

"You really like him, don't you," Clark stated. It was not a question.

Her face seemed to answer for her, blushing even more.

"Well then," their grandfather said, sitting back in his chair. "I assume there is a chance you will want to maintain this marriage?" At her nod, he continued. "And what is he like professionally? What kind of relationship does he have with his father?"

"He is the strictest teacher at school, and most of the students are afraid of him," she answered. "I know he does it because many of the students don't have a proper respect of the damage magic can do when used incorrectly or inappropriately, so if they're scared of _him _they are more likely to survive long enough to figure it out." She bit her lip. "As far as his father is concerned, they don't get along. He burns his father's letters, in fact."

Her grandfather surprised her by laughing. "That he does not get along with Aloysius is actually a recommendation to his character, as far as I am concerned. I wouldn't burn his letters though, personally. It is always better to know what that man is up to."

He continued. "You should also know that if you decide to stay married, given that Hieronymous is Lord Grabiner's only heir while I have your siblings, tradition would dictate that you would be marrying into _his_ House. You would be forsaking control of our House to your brother, when it should fall to him."

"I don't see that as a major concern," Alice replied.

Her grandfather nodded. "Clark, if your sister does wish to renew her marriage contract, you have my permission to give her away in my name. The headmistress will be able to run you through the ceremony should the matter occur." He then turned to her. "Please notify me, either way. I must know if I need to get a suitable dowry together; it will be necessary if you choose to extend your marriage contract for ten years or more."

Alice frowned. "Are dowries traditional?"

"Only in the great houses; it would remain under your control throughout your marriage, and could become inheritance for your children should you will it."

"I'm guessing Mom and Dad don't know about this?" Emma asked.

Clark snorted. "What do you think Dad would do if he found out that Alice had married a teacher, since we can't tell him anything about the manus or magic?"

Ethan grinned. "It would probably involve C4 or his old sniper rifle."

Alice squeezed her eyes shut, trying to block out the image. "The school has magical means of protection. If dad tried to go after Hieronymous or tried to pull me out, the authorities would probably wipe his brain of any memories of me to keep the school safe. Mom too, I'm guessing. My _current _plan, if we decide to stay married anyway, is to wait until I'm eighteen this spring and then to start writing letters like I'm falling for him and starting to chase Hieronymous on my own initiative. That way they think it was _my _idea, Dad doesn't try to shoot Hieronymous, and we can decide if we want to hold another ceremony or 'elope' when I graduate."

"They would make Mom and Dad _forget _about you!" Emma exclaimed. "That's just barbaric!"

Alice noticed that her grandfather was now the one staring at the table.

"Was it Mom or Dad that had magic?" she asked softly. "What happened?"

"It was…your mother," her grandfather answered. He sounded tired, or old. "By the time she was twelve, it was obvious that she had magic. Your grandmother was much more involved in her raising than I was, I am sad to say. Work always kept me busy, and I always thought there would be time later, but that was seldom so."

He had to gather himself to continue. "Sometimes marriages are arranged, in the great houses, still. I had begun getting offers regarding your mother. Considering the wealth and influence our family possesses, there were a multitude of proposals. I did not intend to force her into anything, but tried to present it as she could have her pick of anyone she wanted. She insisted she wanted to grow up and fall in love with a man that loved _her_ instead of her money.

"Then tragedy struck. The mother that had loved and nurtured her was suddenly taken from us both in an accident; a car accident in London. It was the day before she turned thirteen.

"Your mother is nothing if not brave. When presented with the Choice, she decided to leave everything behind and seek her dream of a man loving her without her money. Without her mother, I was not enough of an emotional draw to hold her back. There was nothing I could do. She had made her Choice.

"She was switched with a Wildseed that had had good parents, but was not able to keep her story straight and was forced to choose between leaving either them or Iris. Their memories were altered; hers to think that she had been there her entire life, and her foster-parents to think that their daughter was younger than their real daughter was and to accept your mother as their daughter."

"Can't you change that?" Clark asked. "Make it so parents can know and remember that their kid has magic so families don't have to be split up like this? You're on the Council, right?"

Grandfather smiled sadly. "Not without more votes, and if I don't keep the law I uphold, then there is no law."

"So you can't have any contact with Mom or anything?" Emma asked.

"No, not really," he answered. "In this situation, due to neither of your parents having magic, the magical community laws consider you orphans under my care that simply live with foster parents. I am allowed to provide for _you, _but not for your parents. Communication that your parents might see is also severely restricted. This is why I am able to send you to the best schools in your area and send you presents, but was not able to speak with you until you were given the Choice yourselves."

Then he smiled. "There was one little loophole I did manage to exploit."

"You did something with Mom's cancer?" Alice guessed.

He nodded. "I am only allowed to involve myself with her health if she is carrying one of my heirs, and it is considered within my rights to 'promote' the birth of one. So when I found out about the cancer, I had a green witch posing as a nurse examine her, and she determined that it was likely fatal even with normal medical treatment. So, I had her dosed with a fertility potion, and as soon as you mother became pregnant, I could have the witch treat her legally."

Alice giggled. "And she changed the type or progress of the cancer so the normal doctors could finish treating it but wouldn't get suspicious like if it just disappeared?"

"Exactly," he answered.

Alice frowned. "Would that make Nancy a White prodigy at all?"

Her grandfather raised an eyebrow. "It is unlikely, but not impossible. Why?"

"A few nights ago she came into my room," Alice started, "explained that her invisible friends had told her to sleep near me to keep the evil spirits that gave her bad dreams away, told me that I was married, and then accurately described Hieronymous."

"That requires follow-up, I'll have the local authorities see to it," he assured her.

They sat in silence for a few minutes, absently picking at the pastries in front of them. Their grandfather drew a long breath. "Does…does your father make your mother happy?"

"Yes, he does," Alice answered. After a moment she asked her own question. "What is Mamma's real name?"

"Aimee," Grandfather replied, tears in his eyes. "Her name is Aimee."


	4. In Her Shadow

"I am in a dress," Clark grumbled as he hefted his suitcase, walking beside Alice up the hill towards the gate.

It was September 1st, and he had not wanted to be seen with their parent's making a fuss over him any more than she had the previous year.

Alice shrugged. "You would prefer having to wear a codpiece? Robes are fashionable here, and there have probably been worse fashions for men through the ages."

"You're probably right; it's just _strange_," Clark admitted as they passed through the gates. "I do like the cloak, though. I just wish it was black instead of yellow. That would look properly mysterious."

Alice paused at the gate as her breath caught. Hieronymous was standing not twelve feet away facing away from them, watching a fleeing freshman as he snapped his book shut. She grinned, thinking perhaps someone else had tried to run him over again this year.

"Is that him?" Clark asked, nodding in her husband's direction.

"Yes," she said, and then had to quicken her pace to match her brother's as he went directly for Hieronymous, who was turning in their direction.

Clark put on a big grin and stuck his free hand out. "Good morning Professor, I'm Clark Hayes. I understand that you married my sister?"

Hieronymous stared at her brother for a long moment. Surely he had never been addressed in this fashion by a student. His gaze twitched to her, and he recovered enough to shake Clark's hand.

Clark retained his jovial tone and expression. "I just wanted to be the first to welcome you to our somewhat insane, but lively little family. I hope we will get the opportunity to get to know each other."

By now they had attracted a ring of gawking bystanders. She was trying very hard not to laugh as it took a few more seconds for her husband to recover his speech sufficiently to answer, "Thank you."

"In other business," Clark continued, "would one of you be kind enough to point me towards my dorm?"

Not entirely trusting herself to speak without laughing, Alice pointed toward Toad Hall. Clark picked his suitcase back up, and then sauntered in the direction she had indicated.

After staring after him for a moment Hieronymous recovered and a quick glare sent the audience scurrying for safety.

"May I?" he said in his rich British accent, indicating her suitcase.

"Yes please," Alice answered, walking alongside him as he carried her bag. "I hope Clark didn't go overmuch out of bounds?" she half asked.

Hieronymous gave a slight grin. "Well, I suppose I did marry his sister without a word to him, to be perfectly fair. Not to mention that a student that says that e wants to get to know me seems to be unique to your family. However…does he _normally _behave in such a fashion?"

"Oh, you can expect him to be one of your most well-behaved and studious freshmen," she answered, "in class. Outside of class…well…he has a very dry sense of humor."

"I hadn't noticed." His reply was droll.

Alice smiled. "How else do you think I came here last year already knowing how to appreciate _your _sense of humor?"

That rated another small grin from her husband, but they were at her door. "So, shall I see you for class?" he asked, depositing her suitcase next to her door.

"Naturally, and for tea this weekend?" she asked.

"I will not attempt to stop you."

"Good. I had an interesting summer, not all of which I could put down in writing."

His eyebrow rose. "Really? Now I'm curious."

Alice looked to make sure no one else was in the hall, but still motioned for him to come closer. "Apparently," she whispered into his ear, "I'm not really a Wildseed. And you might have quite the opportunity to annoy your father, should you choose to do so."

Acting on impulse she brushed his cheek with a quick kiss, then quickly gathered her bag and disappeared behind her door, leaving Hieronymous behind staring at the place she had just been standing.

...

Alice entered her room to find her roommates already unpacking. Virginia was dropping her clothes into her drawers any which way, and Ellen was refolding hers and placing everything carefully in her drawers. Her socks appeared to be stacked in rows by color.

"Alice! You finally made it!" Ellen exclaimed, stopping her chore to give her a hug.

Virginia was less demonstrative. "Good to see you," she said, grinning as she turned her suitcase upside-down so the remnants of its contents fell into the top drawer, which she then shut with her hip.

"Did you two have too much fun without me?" Alice asked. Ellen had gone home with Virginia for the summer. Alice had invited Ellen herself, but had had to admit that Ellen would probably be sharing her bed with her as her house was somewhat crowded already. And she had been warned that the twins could be worse troublemakers than Donald. Considering that Nancy had been crawling into her bed every night until the mages impersonating AC repairmen had finished warding the house against the Kahmras that had probably been responsible for Nancy's nightmares, it had probably been a good thing that Ellen had gone to Virginia's instead.

"Oh," Virginia considered. "I'd say just the right amount. Not too much or too little."

"How about your summer?" Ellen wanted to know.

"Well, I found out that I'm not exactly a Wildseed," Alice admitted. "Mom had magic, but said 'no' when they gave her the Choice."

"Really?" Virginia said.

Alice shrugged. "It's a bit of a story. I'll tell you about it after supper. It does mean that my brother Clark came with me today."

"Sounds good," Ellen said. "Clark. That's the one you get along best with, right?"

"Yes."

"Good," Virginia said. "You could use someone else around that isn't nervous around you _Mrs. Grabiner._"

Alice had to acknowledge that she was right about that.

"Speaking of which," Ellen said, "I thought I heard Grabiner's voice before you came in."

"You did," Alice admitted. "We met him by the gate and he walked me to my room after Clark introduced himself."

"Introduced himself? To Grabby? Typically, sane people don't try to draw his attention," Virginia said incredulously.

Alice unzipped her suitcase and started unpacking as she explained what, specifically per Virginia's request, had happened.

"And flames did not come from Grabby's mouth and burn him to a crisp?" Virginia asked.

Alice had to giggle. "Well, Hieronymous _did_ look a bit surprised."

"But Clark _does _have a sense of self-preservation though, right?"

Ellen had a different take on the issue. "It's possible that Grabiner is simply sweet on Alice and thought that barbequing her brother would be a poor greeting."

"Hmmm…" Virginia started to study her as if she were some sort of exotic animal.

Alice hastily finished her unpacking and shoved the suitcase under her bed. "Want to go meet my brother?" she asked, hoping to distract them.

She guessed that her attempt at evasion was a bit obvious at best, but her friends were willing to play along anyway. When they passed both Falcon and Wolf hall, gathering Donald in the process, Virginia exclaimed, "He's in Toad?"

"Correct."

"He's not afraid of the sun or growing moss, is he?" she asked next.

Alice considered. "It's a 'no' on the moss. He does occasionally suggest I climb into an x-wing and shoot the sun down, but that's just an obscure sci-fi book reference. We are not part vampire."

Alice found room #5 and knocked on the door. "Clark, are you there? I brought some of my friends to meet you."

"Come in Alice and Alice's friends and have a seat, it's open," she heard her brother say.

Alice opened the door and walked in. Clark and another boy, just as blond as her brother was, were standing on top one of the two beds sticking a large astrological chart on the wall. She walked in and her friends filed in behind her. Finishing their task, the two boys turned around and put their legs over the side of the bed.

"I'm Clark, and this is my roommate Llew Sato," he said.

"Suki's brother?" Alice asked after introducing her friends, sitting down at the end of Clark's bed.

"Yep," Clark admitted with a grin. "We were just starting to bond over how _unique _our older sisters are."

Alice rolled her eyes and Donald started laughing. "Can a guy with a strange _younger _sister get in on that?"

"Hey!" Virginia said, elbowing her brother.

Llew shrugged. "I don't see why not…but under the circumstances, I think we both have you beat in the 'strange sister' category."

"Did I hear right? Did you really just walk up to Grabiner and welcome him to your family?" Donald wanted to know. Apparently the rumor mill worked just as fast as it always did.

Clark just shrugged. "I figured that I should do this properly."

"Do what?" Virginia asked. "Because it looks like if you wanted to make yourself a subject of gossip before spending five minutes on campus, you got it."

"Close," Clark started to explain. "I know this isn't intentional Alice, but every time I go up a grade and get your old teachers they all know me as 'Alice's brother.' You're a smart cookie, respectful, and generally do well at whatever you decide to do. The issue is all those teachers have had high expectations from me as soon as they read my name off the attendance list and make the connection.

"_This _time, I get to school knowing that not only are the teachers going to know me as your brother, but the _entire_ student body will because you somehow managed to get married to the most feared teacher on campus."

Alice grimaced. "Sorry to put you through that. I hadn't really thought of it that way."

"No problem. Like I said, I know it wasn't intentional. Anyway, I figured that it would be smart to flaunt the situation a little bit. It would save time; I wouldn't have to answer as many questions from dingbats about whether the stories about your marriage were accurate or not. It's enlightened self-interest. If I happen to have a little fun on the way, so be it," Clark finished.

It seemed her brother _would _make a fair politician when it was his turn to head the House.

Virginia started laughing. "You're all right," she admitted.

"What, are you afraid of Toads?" Clark asked. "Because I thought being Grabiner's brother-in-law was enough to get me into Toad Hall in and of itself."

Donald shrugged. "She's not afraid of the garden variety you get outside and put under the blankets, anyway. I tried that one, and she got angry at me for making the toads uncomfortable."

Virginia huffed at her brother. "Anyway, we're all in a sports club if you want to join when we start up again. You too, Llew."

"What kind of sports? Is there any Judo?" Clark wanted to know.

"It varies from week to week," Ellen answered.

"Sounds fair enough," he answered.

Alice smiled. "Just so you remember Clark, don't push it too much in public with Hieronymous. And be the good student in class. He probably _will _expect more out of you than he would most of the other freshman."

"Understood, I'll just pretend I'm in Professor Snape's class at Hogwarts," he answered.

"That's actually a fair comparison," Ellen admitted.

"And I'll remember that he's probably expecting even more out of _you_," he finished.

"You're probably right," Alice agreed.

...

_Thank you for reading, and I love reviews. :) -Frostedrose_


	5. Spoken With Flowers

Getting back in the swing of things was not difficult. Take class, study, eat, sleep, and relax enough that her brain did not explode. The first week had been mostly review for her, but it was useful since she had not gotten the chance to perform any magic while at home, which had probably been the point. Alice had checked on her brother a few times during that first week and had given him a heads up about initiation. She guessed that his would go better than hers had gone. His scheme had worked, and by Friday the whole campus knew him as Grabiner's wife's younger brother. Whatever senior got him would be extra careful not to try to make him do anything too drastic. Clark was treated the same by her husband as any other student in class, but there had been no trouble either in class or outside of it that Clark was involved in. This made it difficult to tell if Hieronymous' protection of her extended to her brother or not.

Anyway, she thought that it was unlikely a senior would practically hit Clark to encourage his obedience, as had happened with her. Alice had considered herself justified in skipping initiation, especially since Damien had been expelled for something violent later that year.

Alice checked the detention room on her way to the cafeteria to make sure Hieronymous was not there before collecting a tea tray. Either no one had managed to get detention the first week, or they had been sent from the room to do some grueling task. This meant that her husband was probably in his rooms now.

Since she was not yet skilled enough to balance the tray in on one hand, she turned sideways when she reached her husband's door and knocked with an elbow.

"Yes?" she heard from inside.

"It's Alice, and I brought tea," she answered.

She heard a few footsteps before Hieronymous opened the door and ushered her into the room. Alice sat the tray on a small table that sat between two chairs, all strangely devoid of either tomes or manuscripts. Alice smiled, he had obviously prepared for her arrival.

A sudden awkwardness descended as they both prepared their tea, both keenly aware that this was the first time they had been truly alone since the first of May.

She was about to open her mouth when he took the initiative. "First of all, I would like to say that it was pleasant corresponding with you over the summer, Alice."

She smiled then nervously bit her lower lip, wondering where he was headed. This could either be very good, or very bad.

"I just wondered…I just wanted to clarify…." He drew a long breath. Alice blinked in surprise. She had never seen him this apprehensive before. Oh, it could not go wrong now.

"What I wanted to know is if you remain of the same mind as you were during our last conversation here; that you wanted to continue in our marriage past January and see if we are indeed suited to each other. You have had ample time to reconsider…."

His hand that had held his teacup was on the table trembling slightly. Alice took it in both of hers, squeezed it, and looked into his eyes. "I'm not going anywhere Hieronymous. And if you're going to try that 'I a bitter old man and you would be better off without me' bit again, you can just forget it."

The tension seemed to drain out of him as he smiled at her. "You realize that you're insane, of course."

"But I'm not completely off my rocker," she replied.

"And how do you figure that?" he asked.

"Well," Alice started. "Both completely sane people _and_ completely insane people think that they're perfectly sane. Therefore, logically, the only way to be _certain _you haven't gone off the deep end is to know yourself _partially _insane."

For perhaps the first time ever, Alice heard Hieronymous Grabiner laugh. "I have never heard it put like that," he admitted. "I'll have to remember that one."

"Dad told me that once when I asked why he made and defused bombs for a living."

Her husband blinked in surprise. "He does _what_?"

"Well, he used to, for the military. He also said that having that particular job made everyone else on the ship not want to give him any grief. Apparently the _last _guy you want upset is the one responsible for taking care of the old underwater mines. They still run into leftovers from World War II sometimes. He has a different job now," she admitted.

"In that case I will have to be very careful as to how I present myself when I finally meet him. I understand that most fathers frown on 'robbing the cradle,'" he replied. "And here I thought the worst response I might have to face is him attempting to manually rearrange my face, but explosives can change that."

Alice could not stop a very un-lady like snort. "How old are you anyway? I just realized that I never asked."

"Twenty-nine."

"And mages can live hundreds of years?"

"Yes, especially if they are any good at Green magic," he confirmed.

"That is partially why my father is getting desperate about me wanting to take over his responsibilities. He is now getting so old, as normals know it, that he should be dead quite soon. He has to wear an illusion when in public on earth to avoid suspicion about his mysterious youthful appearance."

"Interesting," she said, sipping her tea. Alice wondered if she would have to do so one day, as well.

"Now, if you will indulge my curiosity," Hieronymous said, "please elaborate on what you were telling me last Sunday when I left you at your door. After all, I would like to know exactly whom I am married to. You implied that my father might not be _entirely _pleased?"

She smiled. "Well, I believe Grandfather said the fact that you don't get along with your father is 'a recommendation to your character.'"

Alice then went over everything her grandfather had told her, he husband leaning forward in his chair as he listened carefully. Finally, when she was finished, he sat back in his chair, clearly amused.

"This could be interesting," he finally said. "Father originally wanted me to take a wife from one of the other Houses. I doubt that he considered House Carleton a possibility considering his political rivalry with your grandfather."

She noted that his father had almost certainly objected to Violet.

"Will it be problematic?" she asked.

"Likely not," Hieronymous answered. "As I have said before, he was desperate for me to marry. This match will make him uncomfortable when he becomes aware of it, but he will not squawk in public. It will be a political inconvenience as it appears to be a trade in his favor, and others will want to know what he offered your grandfather to make up the difference.

"However, you do realize that you would have control over your own House if you choose to dissolve our marriage. Father owns successful businesses and a fair amount of property, but your House is wealthier than mine."

Alice shrugged. "It's not like I'll go hungry. Besides, Clark is perfectly able to take my place there. If one of the twins manages to mature, they could probably run the bank so Clark could focus on the politics. And then there's Nancy. It's not like Grandfather does not have heirs besides me."

He nodded gratefully. "I just wanted to be sure you understood." He paused for a moment. "Does Clark _wish _to take over for your Grandfather eventually? I know your…and his…circumstances differ from my own but you have only met the man once."

"Well," she answered, "_someone _has to make the world a better place."

Hieronymous leaned back, considering that. "Well, in any case," he finally said, "I need to write your grandfather. It is only polite to inform him that I intend to formally court you."

"Court me?" Alice asked, certain this was something out of a Jane Austin novel.

"Well, yes," her husband answered. "Our circumstances _are _irregular, so some modifications can be made. For example, since we are legally married, we will not require the services of a chaperone."

"So it's like dating?" she asked. Perhaps the traditional upper-crust of the wizard world still behaved like Victorians when trying to find a spouse. Or perhaps Hieronymous just found it a more appropriate way of getting to know his technically underage wife. That might be all right. It was not as if she felt they were ready to rush off to their honeymoon anyway.

"Yes, in a way. We would continue to have conversations, such as we are doing now. I would escort you to events, give you occasional small gifts. We would make plans together with the assumption that we will not be separating. We would also take our time with the…physical…side of our relationship. I would not expect anything substantial to happen on that front at least until you turn eighteen this spring."

He was actually blushing. Alice guessed there was a little pink in her cheeks as well. "Sounds like a good plan to me," she answered. "One small alteration, if that would be okay. I planned to tell my parents that I asked you out first so they can blame the…disregard…of our age difference primarily on me."

"So instead of me robbing the cradle, you would be robbing the grave? Very well," her husband said.

"With that in mind, sophomores are allowed at the Apple Festival if they have earned merits, correct?"

"Correct."

"So assuming I am able to earn some merits by then, will you go with me?" she asked.

Hieronymous smiled. "I may have to ask Petunia to handle any detentions that might arise, but I doubt she would mind. After all, the woman spends every opportunity she has trying to push us together. If you can earn the necessary merits, I would be happy to escort you."

Alice smiled. "I have extra motivation to pass the first exam, then."

Done with the tea, and apparently the conversation, Alice rose from her chair.

"One more thing, before you go Alice," Hieronymous said, retrieving something from his dresser. "Are you familiar with floriography at all?"

"No," she answered as he handed her a small book. She opened it to see various flowers and plants in pictures, with their descriptions listed beside them.

"It is the use of flowers to give a message. This is reference booklet is for you…it is important that both parties use the same reference material as some plants hold multiple meanings when different guides are used."

"You're going to give me flowers that I get to decode all year? I thought you said that you didn't have 'fun,'" Alice said.

That got another small smile out of him. "Petunia keeps an extensive greenhouse for the benefit of students practicing their Green magic on plants as well as a source for potion ingredients, and a rather well-stocked catalogue of seeds. Do not expect large bouquets or even flowers every day. Some may not even be floral. Just do not be supervised if you find a few flowers teleported onto your desk every now and then. Since it would hard to control how they fall onto your desk, please disregard the presentation when interpreting their meaning."

So normally flowers presented horizontally meant one thing, and vertically they meant another? Still, this sounded like a fun game.

"Your first installment," he said, giving her a small vase that contained a bell-shaped white flower with a green center, and another eight-petal open white flower.

Alice smiled, stood on her toes to brush his lips with a kiss and went to her room to decipher her gift. She found the open flower first. It was Indian jasmine, meaning "I attach myself to you." The other was snowdrop, meaning 'hope.'


	6. Wards and Sparks

_FYI-more reviews=faster posting. :)_

_..._

"How is your initiation going?" Alice asked, placing her lunch tray down across from Clark and sitting down.

She had begun the habit of eating breakfast and lunch with her brother or her friends, and supper with Hieronymous. There had been some stares at first, but those came mostly from the freshmen, who had not had time to get use to the idea. Donald had confessed to her that most of the student body was hoping that having a wife, or girlfriend, or whatever else she was, would have a calming effect on the normally ill-tempered professor. Apparently Donald and Clark had encouraged this idea themselves, as it gave everyone a convenient reason to accept a relationship between a student and a teacher and they were less likely to be bothered.

Naturally, Hieronymous kept his normal discipline but there were some that insisted that the professor was less prickly when she was around, so her presence was more desirable than it was feared.

It was nice to not be treated like a contagious disease or swamped with embarrassing questions. Alice wondered if Clark was intending to recommend Donald to their grandfather for a job that involved public relations. He would be good at it.

"It's all right," he answered. "About all my senior does is make me get her coffee. She must be addicted to the stuff."

She grinned. "Last year, someone was told to recite poetry to Professor Potsdam. She stopped him, because he was not allowed to disrupt class, but then made him finish it afterwards."

"I'd heard about that," Donald said, sitting down beside Clark. "It was my roommate, Luke. I'm sorry I wasn't there to see it."

"Robert Browning?" Clark asked.

"Alice in Wonderland," she answered.

"Ah," Clark replied. "You would recognize that. It was one of your favorite books when you were younger."

She smiled. "And then I went and fell into the rabbit hole myself."

"And the rest of us are following you down. Say, have you heard from the rest of the family lately? Last week Mom and Dad said something about the AC needing more repairs," Clark said grimly.

Ellen was sitting down next to her. "Is there any particular reason news of your air conditioner sounds so dire?"

"You remember me telling you about how my youngest sister Nancy had started unconsciously using White magic and had her dreams hijacked?" Alice asked, and Ellen nodded.

"The way the local authorities have it set up," Clark started explaining, "is the AC or heater is set to 'break' whenever the wards start to deteriorate, for whatever reason. Then one of the twins calls the 'repair men' and they come fix it. Mom and Dad think that they just have a good warranty for repairs, but the company is just too cheap to replace the whole system."

Ellen frowned. "But shouldn't the wards not need repair that often?"

Alice grimaced. "That's assuming that you don't have someone that is unconsciously using White magic and making a tangle of them. Nancy's age is a problem, she won't be turning five until December, so that would make it difficult to get the time required to train her without Mom and Dad knowing about it. And legally, children under the age of ten cannot be taken away from their parents for the purpose of training unless there is an event that demonstrates 'a clear danger to the child or those that reside in the household.'"

"Thus the occasional ward repair," Clark finished for her.

Donald snorted. "And my family thinks that _I _have the capacity for trouble."

Clark raised an eyebrow. "Embarrassed that my_ baby_ sister just might have you beat?"

Donald's mouth dropped and eyes widened in mock horror as he took his yet untouched dull knife from his tray and mimed stabbing himself in the heart. Ellen chuckled at him.

"Anyway," Alice said, rolling her eyes at Donald, "Emma wrote out a letter for Nancy. She says that her dreams are better now, but she has to go outside to play with her invisible friends. Emma and Ethan are apparently keeping a close eye on her, just to make sure that she doesn't fall asleep _outside _of the house and the wards."

Clark looked at her as if she had just declared the sky to be green. "That sounds unusually responsible of them."

Alice shrugged. "They know that _someone _has to be, and with Mom and Dad not being able to know about the situation, and the two of us gone, they're the only ones left."

"And Emma probably doesn't want Nancy crawling into her bed, now that she's moved into your room and finally has the place to herself," Clark considered.

Alice grinned. "In all fairness, Nancy _does _kick."

…..

"What else are you planning on signing up for?" Virginia asked as Alice signed her name at the booth her roommate was attending.

"Just this," Alice said. "If I make Treasurer again, between that and my studies, I won't have a lot of free time."

"Trust me, if you want it, you'll get it," Virginia replied. "And what else are you interested in, Clark?"

"Oh, I might take a look around to see if anything catches my eye," he said, signing his own name.

Virginia shrugged. "Donald is in choir if you're interested."

Clark grinned. "I sound like a stepped on Toad when singing."

Virginia snorted.

"All right, I confess, that was a bad pun," he said. "Shall I stick around until I think of a better one?"

Virginia started laughing and Alice turned around and walked away somewhat confused, unsure if her brother was attempting to flirt or just trying to make her roommate laugh.

It was not as if rooming with someone that was dating her brother would make their room any stranger than it already was. After all, Ellen and Donald had started dating late last year and then had spent most of their summer together. She herself was married to a professor. Virginia thought that she was crazy for spending all the time she did with him socially, but Ellen thought that she just had high standards for intellect and maturity. In the end, they both supported her, whatever her decision might be. If Clark and Virginia got together, well, it would just be par for the course. It was just that she had never thought of her brother as, well, in a relationship with anyone before.

Alice realized that she was not sure what kind of girl her brother would like. He had told her what he did not want, though. As soon as the knowledge that he was Lord Edward Carleton's heir became public, he was sure he would be swamped by fluff-brained socialites whose only ambition was to marry well. While Virginia was not as intellectual as herself or Ellen, her mind was certainly not fluff either. While her family was known in the area, they were considered 'respectable' rather than 'influential.' Alice did doubt that Virginia would make much of a socialite, but her brother's wife would have to be able to play the social game in public.

She guessed that Virginia would smile in public if she had to, and then go find something to blow up in private to recompense.

Alice sighed; she was getting ahead of herself. This was too much analysis for her brother telling her roommate jokes.

She brightened, seeing Minnie at the student government booth, and walked over to see if there was anything she could do to help.


	7. Potential Minefields

"What was Potsdam's response about Cider Day?" Alice asked the next Saturday morning, sorting letters. As elections had not yet occurred, she still had the job.

Hieronymous grinned at her from across the table, sorting his own stack of freshman mail. "She maintains that she would be _thrilled_ to handle detention for me any time that would allow us to spend additional time together. She also implied that if you were to do less than what we both would expect of you on your exam, she would find some tasks for you to earn the necessary merits legitimately."

"I'll try not to disappoint you both," she answered. No pressure there, absolutely none at all. "Was she gloating much?"

Hieronymous snorted. "Some, yes. I have not yet told her that we intend to extend our marriage contract. That woman would be insufferable from then until at least a few weeks after the ceremony was done."

"As you have to deal with her more often than I do, I will leave that to your discretion," Alice replied, smiling. "And thank you for your latest installment."

It had been a striped tulip. So, he thought that she had beautiful eyes.

"It is the truth," he replied.

Having gotten there before Hieronymous had, Alice finished her sorting first, got up, and brushed her husband's lips with a quick kiss before leaving to go about her duties. She wondered if he had yet noticed that those kisses were gradually getting less light. It was not simply that she liked kissing her husband, which she did, but she was also hoping that it would help him become more accustom to her. While he had at first seemed surprised by the kisses, he had never objected to them.

She hummed softly as she worked, planning the rest of her day. Her grandfather had decided to give her and Clark an allowance in the form of pre-loaded credit card for each of them. He had also invited them both, along with Hieronymous, to spend their Christmas break with him in England. She would have to talk to her parents during Thanksgiving break about going to meet 'Uncle Ed.'

So, after breakfast she would take the first bus to the mall and check the balance on her card so she would know what she could purchase, then tea with Hieronymous after he was done with detentions.

She smiled as she finished pushing the last envelopes under the door. It was rare that her life was as pleasant and uncomplicated as it was now. She intended to enjoy it while it lasted.

…..

The first exam seemed to be an exercise in paranoia. By Alice's count, she had skirted or destroyed five traps and found two false walls before an Awareness spell had shown her a way out through a _real _wall she had had to Stoneshape out of the way. To top it off, she knew she was being timed. She guessed that the only reason creatures had not been added into the mix was that it would have been easier to just shove them ahead into the traps.

She staggered into the sunlight, drained.

"Well done, well done flower bud!" Potsdam praised, clapping her hands together. "Five merits to you for passing, and another five for being the fastest yet that was still unscathed."

"Thank you professor," Alice said.

"And off to the festival you go without me having to find you errands to run," Potsdam grinned. "So, you have finally gotten through to that minefield of a man?"

Alice had expected this. The woman was incorrigible. "After an exam like this, I was starting to think that he might be looking for an excuse not to go," she teased instead of directly answering the question.

Potsdam laughed, and then waved her away so she could concentrate on the student that was now entering their exam.

She went back to her dorm room and opened the door to find Clark sitting on her bed, talking to Virginia. She was spread out, prone, on her own bed with her head turned toward Clark.

"Let me guess," Alice said. "Did you try to blast anything without shielding yourself first?'

Virginia groaned. "I tried, but I was running out of mana by the end of it, and the wall I ducked behind instead was just an illusion."

"You ok though?" Alice asked.

Her roommate grimaced. "I was able to crawl out, passing the test, but Potsdam had to heal me. So now I'm just exhausted and achy."

"I could bring you something at dinner time, if you want," Clark offered.

Virginia paused before saying, "That would be nice Clark, thanks."

Alice turned to her brother. "So, how did your exam go?"

Clark shrugged. "Well, I tried using Blue magic and ended up by the coffee maker in the cafeteria. I must have been thinking about it. Potsdam gave me extra merits when she came into the cafeteria and I offered her a coffee. She also said something to the effect of at least I didn't end up in a tree."

Virginia's laugh ended in wince.

"That's what I did last year," Alice admitted, grinning.

"I assume you passed yours?" Clark asked.

"I was the fastest so far without getting myself hurt, so extra merits," she said. "I wonder how Ellen's doing. She should be in there about now."

"She'll be fine, she always is," Virginia said.

"Except for the one she took but didn't use any magic," Alice reminded her. "By the way Clark, don't forget to use magic during your tests."

"Interesting, I'll remember that. Must-use-magic-during-test-about-magic," he pretended to write on an imaginary scroll.

Virginia tried to snort, but it came out as more of a groan.

"I'm sorry, I'll try not to be funny until you can laugh. I'll see you with supper," he said heading towards the door.

After the door closed, Virginia was quiet for a moment. "You have a sweet brother," she said.

Alice sat down on her bed where Clark had been. "True. Why, are you interested?" she said, deciding to be direct.

Virginia looked mortified. "I…um…."

"I've heard you say that you want someone that doesn't really care what other people think about them, or that's overly self-absorbed. That pretty much removes any Falcon. I know you've said that you don't like the intellectual types," Alice continued. "But Clark isn't the sort of person to rub how much he knows into other people's faces. He knows that knowing more does not make him a superior person, but one that is better equipped."

"I can see that," she considered.

"I won't be offended if you do or don't date him," Alice assured her. "You two could be good for each other, but as I've told you about Grandfather, you know that Clark will have certain work and social obligations you might rather not deal with."

"I know Alice…I just…I'm not sure yet," she mumbled into her pillow. "Did…has he said anything about me?"

Alice smiled. "Not yet, and he _might_ just be being nice to you. I just haven't seen him pay this much attention to a girl before. And I think he would understand you wanting to get to know him on friendly terms before deciding if you want to go beyond that."

Virginia sighed. "Well, that's nice to know."

Ellen then entered the room, looking worn out but pleased with herself. They talked about the exam until supper time, and then left and started walking toward the cafeteria. They passed Clark on the way there; he was holding a tray with about four or five desserts stacked next to the entrée.

…..


	8. A First Date

Alice smiled, breathing the scent of crisp autumn air and sweet apples and listening to the fiddles playing in the background. It was Cider Day, and she stood with Hieronymous, watching people work the cider press. As soon as she had stepped off the bus that morning, her husband was there, offering her his arm. She had managed not to look too surprised, taking it and then strolling off with him.

She would not have minded holding her husband's hand, but by now was use to the fact that Hieronymous preferred the formal version of such things when in public. Alice did not mind as it made her feel like a lady.

She attempted to stifle a giggle, remembering that she actually _was _a lady.

"Is something amusing you?" Hieronymous asked.

"It just struck me that we are the only couple arm in arm instead of hand in hand," she answered, looking around, judging none of the other students were close enough to hear their conversation.

"You have an objection?"

"No," she said. "By now I'm used to being unusual."

Hieronymous paused. "I'm sorry if you feel alienated from your classmates."

Alice shrugged. "Between you, Clark, and Donald I almost never get bothered about our relationship. I haven't lost any of the friends I made last year, and between my studies, student council stuff, and the relationships I have already I don't expect I will be having time for any more in the near future anyway."

"What have Mr. Danson and your brother done to aid your situation?" he asked.

"They have heavily suggested that you are more…calm…when in my presence, and that whatever else may or may not be going on, I enjoy your company as well. They reason that you being less likely to be in a bad mood, and therefore refraining from giving everyone that crosses your path demerits, is a goal shared by all," Alice explained.

"Which also means," her husband theorized, "that bothering you about our situation might make you upset and want to end it. In that case, I would undoubtedly be in a relentless fury for some time to come."

Alice grinned. "Something like that."

"Which also explains why the students seem to be giving us our space today," he said looking around. In truth, the other students did appear to be skirting wherever they happened to be by a comfortable margin. "So I assume Clark is getting the lion's share of questions regarding us, and acting as a shield for you?" he asked.

She nodded. "He says it's strange having so many people pay attention to him. I don't think that he truly dislikes it. I got attention for being the oldest, Nancy got attention for being the youngest, and the twins got attention for causing the most trouble at home. Clark felt like he was sandwiched in as my deputy to just keep the rest of our siblings from getting themselves hurt."

Hieronymous nodded. "And he likes you, so he's doing something constructive with the attention."

"And Donald is nice enough to help him. They seem to be getting along very well," she said.

"As Mr. Danson has yet to get into detention this year," he said, "I will regard your brother's friendship as a positive force."

"Just wait until the twins get here," Alice smirked. "I am sure they will attempt to leave you without any free weekends."

"I cannot contain my excitement," her husband deadpanned.

They walked on until they came to the fiddlers. The music was lively, and Alice found herself tapping a foot to the rhythm.

"Clark says he's running for Treasurer this year. He thinks that he may was well make use of the fact that all the freshmen seem to know his name," Alice said.

"And your brother is aware of what the position requires? I recall thinking that you may have not read the full contents of the manual I handed you."

She grinned sheepishly. "I actually hadn't read the whole thing, but I thought that there would be work involved. And yes, I told Clark about what would be expected of him. He's a morning person anyway."

"Then I shall expect him to come to my office with a campaign theme and lubricous nickname already in mind. Speaking of which, are you planning on running?"

"Yes," Alice answered. "I was wondering if I could run as 'Mrs. Grabiner' since it isn't a secret anymore."

"I…" Hieronymous paused. "Are you sure that it would be in your best interest? Being liked and being respected is not always the same thing."

Alice smiled. "It would be more of a problem for 'President' than for 'Treasurer' I think. And everyone that paid attention last year knows I did a good job. Not to mention the fact that claiming the name 'Mrs. Grabiner' would allow me to forego the traditional ludicrous nicknames."

Her husband chuckled. "You mean that you would rather admit to being my wife in public than going as 'Lady Lampshade Head' again? In that case, I find myself flattered."

"I am seriously considering hitting you with something Hieronymous," she teased back, "but I will refrain as it would undermine the discipline at Iris."

"You are magnanimous as always, wife," he said. "And I have no objections. I will ask, however, if you have been speaking with Petunia recently. She has become especially…smug…lately."

Alice frowned, thinking. "Not that I remem…_oh_."

Hieronymous just looked at her inquisitively.

"Grandfather wrote Clark asking what kind of arrangements he should be making for our visit over Christmas, assuming Mom and Dad let us go." He had wanted their measurements so he could provide them with 'appropriate wardrobes.' He also had wanted to know if one room or two would be required for the newlyweds. She had told him two rooms would suffice. "This opened the subject about our marriage, and Clark wanted to know if he needed to learn the ceremony to give me away. I guess he must have asked Potsdam about it."

"And you told your brother that this would be necessary?" As in the case of the dowry, it would only be necessary if the marriage contract was for ten years or longer. Otherwise, it left the door open for her to not renew her marriage contract when the time came, and claim her status in the house of her birth. Theoretically, their next contract in January could be for any amount of time longer than the year and a day.

"Well, I think my exact words were that I don't intend to renew my marriage contract every year like it was a dog's license.…" Alice stopped, looking up at her husband who had turned to face her directly. He had the strangest look on his face, like there was something repressed, trying to fight its way out. "Perhaps we should talk about it later in private? I know we haven't really discussed anything more than that we _would _extend it," she suggested, softly.

He lifted up his free hand, and gently stroked her cheek with the back of a finger down toward her lips. Her face felt warm, and Alice guessed she was blushing. "It would be my pleasure, Mrs. Grabiner," he said.

They stood there staring at each other for a moment, until a loud announcement came that supper was being served. The couple, startled now that the world had intruded on them, gathered themselves and went to eat.

Alice woke the next morning to a light, sweet scent and discovered purple lilacs on her desk; the declaration of the first emotions of love.

….


	9. The Birth of a Politician

Clark had been of the opinion that Sophomore Treasure was hers as soon as it became common knowledge that she was running. He had been correct, no one had signed up to run against her. Raven Darkstar was running against Minnie, so Minnie did have to campaign. Instead of campaigning for herself, this year Alice and her roommates were helping Clark.

Today, Alice and her friends were walking around handing out shield-shaped 'Vote for Clark Hayes, the Guardian Griffin" badges. The shield was white with the griffin in red so the black letters stood out. She had offered to help him with his speech, but Clark said he already had some ideas of his own. Knowing her brother as she did, she figured that whatever he said, it would be memorable against the backdrop of normally dull speeches.

His opponent was a wispy girl from a wealthy family named Adelaide. She never went anywhere without her hair and makeup done, was possibly the biggest gossip in the freshman class, and tended to flirt with the boys that came from families that also had 'money.' She was probably one of those socialites that Clark would rather avoid.

The last time she had spoken to Clark in private, he had joked that the day Adelaide started flirting with him, he would know that his identity as the Carleton heir was out.

After finishing with the badges, they walked back to Clark's table. "Anything else we can do to help?" she asked her brother.

"No thanks, you all have been great," he said, grinning as he turned around to talk to the next freshman by his table. He had managed a respectable line, though not as long as hers had been last year. Then again, he wasn't offering free hugs.

Next they went to Minnie's booth, and she also seemed to be doing well. "Of course I'm voting for you," Alice told her when asked.

"Because I haven't returned the favor you did for me at the candle sale last year, and you already have something in mind?" she asked.

"That works for me," Alice teased.

As they walked away Virginia asked, "So, what favor was that?"

"I did her shift in addition to mine at the candle fundraiser last year," Alice answered.

"Oh yeah," Virginia said. "That was when Angela saw you at the Glen with Grabby and thought you were on a date."

"Yet another way she was responsible for your marriage becoming public," Ellen said. "Though in this case there was no way she could have predicted that Angela would have seen you two and made assumptions."

"I'm not actually angry with her about that—making the marriage public I mean," Alice said as they walked. "We weren't really talking much at the time, and it forced us to have some conversations that Hieronymous and I really needed to have. It was horrible at first, though."

Virginia nodded vigorously. "Who wouldn't have been upset? I mean, all those people asking you how Grabby is in bed…."

Alice grimaced. There had also been Hieronymous' reaction to the ordeal. She had been hoping for protection, and he had scared her instead. He had thought she had betrayed him, and he should have known better. She had called him out for scarring her, the next morning, and he had apologized and offered the protection she had expected the previous day. He had also further explained himself and apologized again later that day when she had gone to see him.

Alice mused, "Until then I had planned on ignoring the marriage as much as possible, trying to pretend it hadn't happened. When it became public, there was no ignoring it anymore, for either of us. It became necessary for us to become friends, and he was able to admit that he liked me. I hadn't expected that. It made me consider that maybe this could work after all, that maybe it was a blessing in disguise."

"Considering that it was well known at the time that Grabby hated everyone," Virginia said, "his liking you was in itself miracle."

"Not that Virginia is saying that you're hard to like," Ellen joked.

They entered their dorm room, and sat down.

"I know," Alice said. "And I was grateful that you two led most of the school on a wild goose chase."

"It was kind of fun," Virginia admitted. "It was like we were pranking the entire school, but only for a good cause, and we couldn't get into any trouble for it."

Alice giggled, wondering if Virginia had actually 'pranked' more people than Donald ever had with that one deed.

"Well, at least it's turning out well for you," Ellen said. "You two are dating now…wait…you called it 'courting?'"

"It's like dating but much more formal," Virginia said. "The richer you are in the wizard world, the more formal you have to be. Most do it before rather than after marriage, though."

Alice raised an eyebrow. "My pre-martial courtship was 'get married or the manus eats you.' Not what every girl dreams of."

"The flowers you get now are certainly nice," Ellen said, looking at where the lilacs still bloomed in the vase. Alice had been practicing her green magic to keep her flowers blooming and looking fresh until more arrived.

"Do you especially like lilacs?" Virginia asked. "You seemed really happy the day you got those."

She had not told them about what various flowers meant. They were her friends, but it would be too much like letting them read love letters. Still, she could not stop a bit of a blush from reaching her cheeks. "Well, yes, I had wanted lilacs for some time now."

"Well, what are you doing at the end of your year?" Ellen wanted to know.

"We're extending our marriage contract…essentially getting married again," Alice said. "If we don't the marriage expires."

"You'd better be inviting us this time," Ellen said, grinning.

"I still think you're a bit crazy," Virginia admitted. "But as long as you're happy and he treats you well, I'm not going to argue. At least, I won't argue if there's cake."

Alice had to laugh at that. "Fine, I'll order a cake. I should probably discuss some of this with Potsdam sooner or later. I think I'll get a dress too. The one I wore was ok, but I think I want one that's _mine_."

Virginia looked over at Ellen. "You help her pick the dress, and I'll help pick the cake. Deal?"

Ellen smiled. "Deal."

...

Alice sat in the stands, waiting for the freshman speeches. Minnie and Raven had spoken before she had. While they were still campaigning, Alice had thanked her class for their continued support, said that she would continue to be diligent in her work, and put in that she hoped this year would be less eventful than the last had been. That had gotten a few chuckles. They had been very vague with the details of her marriage, but most seemed to think that she had attracted Hieronymous' attention because of the Treasurer position—which was not entirely inaccurate.

Minnie had been reelected, and then the freshman presidential candidates gotten up to speak. She did not know either of those candidates. Then Clark got up to speak.

"I would first like to thank the audience," he started, "and congratulate your prudence in familiarizing yourself with the political process as well as your interest in our school community.

"I am running for Treasurer because I believe that this job suites me. I know the tasks that will be required of me, and intend to perform them to the best of my ability. As Professor Grabiner oversees the student government, I look forward to getting to know him outside of the classroom environment.

"I must also compliment my honorable opponent. First of all, I complement her for the hardy work ethic that she must have to volunteer to be in the mail room at five am each Saturday morning when most of the students are still sleeping in their beds. I grant that delivering the mail provides some insight into the lives of fellow students, but stuffing envelopes with allowances and delivering them to each room would seem a tedious task to all but the most dutiful.

"While I am sure that my opponent already possesses much in the way of social graces, I must commend her ambition of cultivating a professional working relationship with my brother-in-law. My sister, from her experiences as treasurer, assures me that he is in his customary state of cheerfulness early in the morning when dealing with members of the student government during his occasional visits."

Some of the students were goggling at her brother. Others had their hands over their mouths to stifle laughter. A few of the slower ones just looked confused, as there was no hint of sarcasm in Clark's voice. He was managing to sound like a gentleman as he pointed out possible weaknesses of his opponent. After all, who wanted the biggest gossip in the freshman class going over their mail? There were spells to open and close letters, but make it look like no one had tampered with them.

"In short," he was finishing, "I am pleased to place my accounting skills at your disposal, work with the president of your choice to make our traditional events successful, and carry out the weekly tasks of mail and allowance delivery if you will kindly vote for Clark Hayes the Guardian Griffin."

He gave a bow in response to the mixture of applause and laughter, and returned to his seat on stage.

When the room finally quieted, Potsdam came forward to announce, "And now, Miss Adelaide Nielson."

The wispy girl stood slowly, brushing her dark hair back, and walked to the podium. She looked over the audience for a moment before nodding to herself and tossing the cards that Alice suspected contained her speech over her shoulder.

"I will depart from my prepared remarks with a proposal of my own. I will withdraw from this race in exchange for a date with Mr. Hayes," she said, smiling at where Clark sat.

Alice was sitting close enough that she could see that Clark looked stunned. He had not considered that if his campaign speech was so well received that she would assume she would lose the election, that she then would bow out but attempt to do so on her own terms.

"If you're ok with it being lunch at the mall's food court, that would be acceptable," Clark replied. He then stood and shook the girl's hand.

Either he did not want to take the risk of losing, or he was being kind by letting Adelaide bow out gracefully. Either way, her brother was going on his first date as a political maneuver. She suspected that in the future if he were to be asked what his first practical lesson in politics was, he would say it was to leave your opponent a way to make a graceful exit. She looked over to where Virginia sat beside her, but her roommate seemed unruffled.

Virginia bent over and whispered to her, "What do you bet that she just wants to pump him for info on you and Grabby?"

Alice smiled. "Sorry, I'm on your side there." Of course, she may also consider him a legitimate target for her flirtations due to the fact that he could develop good business connections through Hieronymous. Those that wished to enrich themselves further often made it their business to know those connected to the truly wealthy. Hieronymous would count there, as the heir apparent to a moderately wealthy Great House.

Alice still hoped the girl was simply interested in gossip, so she would be distracted from attempting to pry into other areas.

...

_Thanks to those of you that have reviewed so far. :)_


	10. Spunk or Desperation

"So, how did it go?" Alice asked her brother the next Sunday over lunch.

"Carefully," Clark replied, stabbing a potato with his fork.

"That's not how most people describe their first date," she said. They had selected a table for two in the corner of the room on purpose, their nearest neighbors about three tables away as they were eating early.

Clark sighed. "Some first date, just a series of maneuvers. After the mandatory small talk, she started flirting. I told her that I was flattered but uninterested as politely as I could. It is not wise to make yourself the enemy of such a gossip, if it can be avoided."

Alice nodded. "Some people just insist on being nasty, though," she said, thinking of Angela the previous year.

"True. Then she asked, specifically, what shortcomings I thought she had," he continued. "So I told her that I considered accurate information valuable in some instances, so I asked her why she insisted on spreading information in exchange for nothing, and without verifying its accuracy."

Alice snorted. "I hope you at least stopped yourself from telling her that you thought most people that talked too much either were insecure and trying to promote themselves or trying to distract you from figuring out that they didn't know something they thought they should."

Clark smiled. "I was able to stop myself there. I think she could understand viewing trading information as like the trading of goods, but I don't think she would have appreciated my trying to psychoanalyze her."

"Probably not."

"So then," he continued, "she admitted that maybe she talked a little too much, and that my opinion on the matter showed 'good business sense.' She was also saying that although she comes from 'money,' her parents would not have anything against her being with someone that had to work for a living provided he had potential in his field."

Alice nodded. "I asked Hieronymous about her family. Apparently, they _had _money, but made some bad investments or otherwise spent their money poorly. Adelaide is their only child, and if they want to preserve their standard of living, she _has _to marry well."

Clark's shoulders slumped. "Great, now I feel sorry for the little gossip. Her parents are probably pushing her to catch the guy with the biggest wallet she can find."

"And don't forget, your brother-in-law's House owns some successful businesses. She probably thinks that Hieronymous will set you up with a cushy job after you graduate."

Clark groaned, and dropped his fork on his plate to rub his head like he suddenly developed a headache. "So I might have to deal with her some more. If she gets too bad, do you think Virginia might go out with me so Adelaide will go chase someone that would want her?"

Alice smiled. "Because she's the only 'single' girl you know or because you actually like her?"

Clark stopped rubbing his head, and stared at his food. "Well, she's kind of the opposite of the kind of girl I want to avoid. And as close as you two are, I consider that a pretty good recommendation to her character. I like her spunk, and she is pretty. I guess I'm just thinking that something _could _develop, but of course I don't know for sure."

"If it helps," Alice said, "she isn't sure what to think about you, either. I mean, she likes you as a person but she isn't sure if she's ready for a romantic attachment right now I think."

"Well, then that makes two of us," he said. "I just know that I will want a girlfriend eventually, and I don't know how long the cat will stay inside the bag. And I want someone that will want me for the right reasons."

Alice nodded. "I think that 'it' will be something of a detriment with her. She doesn't mind being social, but I don't think she would like playing political games…she's not the sneaky type except when it comes to the occasional prank."

"I can understand that. Maybe if anything _does _develop, I can just phrase it as trying to prank the rest of the world," he finished grinning. Alice chuckled, and they returned to their meal.

...

The second exam dealt with White magic more than any other had so far. Alice had found herself standing on an island in the middle of a great pit that she could not see the bottom of. There had been too much interference for a basic Awareness spell to tell her which way to Teleport. There _had _been a spirit of some sort that she had been able to communicate with, and ask for help in finding her way from island to island until she found the door out. The deal they had negotiated was that the spirit would be given the rest of her mana reserve once she no longer had need of spell casting to get out. Alice figured that this would give the spirit motivation to get her out as efficiently as possible.

This was why Alice was completely drained as she walked into the sunlight to find a smiling Professor Potsdam.

"Well done Alice! Five merits to you."

"Thank you Professor," Alice said. "I'm guessing this is the Joago's favorite exam?"

"And another five merits for correctly identifying the spirit. They are generally benign, and perfectly willing to make trades."

Alice nodded, it made sense to her.

"On another note, am I to understand that I will have a certain joyful occasion to officiate this January?"

Well, as Clark had pretty much already admitted it with asking her about the House-switching ceremony, she may as well confirm it. "Yes, I was wondering if we could have a few decorations or maybe a little party with friends afterward?" Alice asked.

"Whatever you want rosebud!" Potsdam exclaimed. "You and Hieronymous just hammer out the details, and I'll be happy to help in any way I can. I just _love _weddings, and I am so happy for you both. It was about time he stopped moping and remembered to live again." She nodded at the last as if no sane person would disagree with her.

Alice simply smiled and took her leave so Potsdam could attend to the next student. When she got back to her room, she noticed a deposit that had not been on her desk before she left for breakfast that morning. Several pink ivy geraniums were lying on top of a book she had been reading. So, they were an invitation to dance?

Alice smiled, making a mental note to ask her husband over dinner where he wanted to meet her for the Dark Dance.


	11. Dancing in the Dark

It became apparent to Alice how much preparation was actually involved with getting ready for the Dark Dance.

She had Minnie had had to take their classes in the morning, and as soon as lunch was over, start the task of moving the dead leaves from the campus grounds where they had fallen into the gym. Potsdam had already altered the gym floor to make it less slippery. After all, a normal gym floor covered with dead leaves would likely result in slipping injuries once students started to dance.

Alice and Minnie took turns moving the air with Red magic like they were a giant leaf-blower and providing the wall that had directed the air toward the gym, and then spread the leaves all over the floor. Most of the junior's officers were going through the school putting up the blue glow that would direct the students to the gym once the lights went out. Their secretary was running a final rehearsal of the volunteer musicians from various classes. The freshman president was placing and filling incense burners, so they would be ready to be lit when the time came. As soon as supper was over, the senior's officers arrived in the gym to secure sources of hot and cool air and then weave their circulation throughout the gym so the dancers could feel bursts of air of different temperatures without it mixing that much.

She stayed behind in the gym to see if she could help with anything else after supper. Hieronymous was there, supervising the students, and had to dissipate the miniature cyclone one the seniors had accidentally created. Instead of giving the unlucky student demerits, detentions, or breathing fire at her immediately, she could hear her husband give the girl the homework of being able to dispel such a cyclone on her own by next Monday or she _would _be in detention. Surprise and relief that it had not gone worse was evident on the girl's face as Hieronymous turned and walked away from her, until she had picked out Alice sitting on a bench and nodded thoughtfully.

Perhaps Hieronymous actually _was _in a better mood when in her presence. Or perhaps he purposely slacked his normal discipline a little to encourage the idea that her presence was desirable to the students at large to give credit to her brother's assertions.

It was nice not being treated as a contagious disease as she had been shortly after the news of their marriage had spread. She was still something separate from the student body at large, but she could tolerate that. After all, it was not that much different from being the oldest in her own family. Her additional duties when her mother had been ill had caused some amount of social isolation. It was not just the time it had taken to perform them, but she had begun to see many of her peers as irresponsible and selfish. On the other hand, this was also why her bond with Clark was so strong. He had always been there for her and had helped her as much as he could. Until she had come to Iris, he had been the closest thing she had had to a best friend.

Finally, Hieronymous announced that it was time to begin, interrupting her thoughts. The incense burners were lit, the musicians took their places, and her husband came and took her hand as the lights went out.

The music started, and the drum beat seemed to work its way into her soul. Her husband did not move from his seat beside her, so she sat listening as the gym began to fill. There were the sounds of footfalls that obviously belonged to the students, and the shadowy presence of Joago that had been there before them, entering as soon as the lights were out.

Finally, her husband stood and led her by the hand. The scent of pine was delicious, and the bursts of hot and cool air made it feel like she was near a campfire on a breezy autumn night. When they reached their destination, Hieronymous paused only to place his other hand on her waist as they began to dance.

At first, it was strange dancing in the dark, unable to see her partner's movements. Alice had to relax, to feel and hear his movements so she could follow them, and allow herself to become accustom to the rhythm of the dance. She had to trust where her husband led her completely, and in following him, they never bumped into anyone else.

Not being able to see forced her to focus her attention elsewhere. They were dancing close enough that the pine incense did not overwhelm her husband's own particular scent. She had smelled it before when kissing him, and for some reason it was particularly enticing. She was very aware of his hand on her waist, and her arm resting on his shoulder as their other two hands touched.

Focusing on these things made time seem to stand still, but it went entirely too quickly. Just before the soft candlelight appeared to announce the end of the ceremony, Hieronymous led her around a corner away from the crowd. She discovered her arms, moving almost as if they had a will of their own, winding around his neck as her husband kissed her. She had given him light kisses any number of times, but this was only the second time _he_ had kissed _her_. Unlike the hopeful 'hello' of the first kiss they had shared, this one left her feeling weak in her knees and gulping for air while she was still pressed up against his chest. As soon as she got her breath back, she leaned up for another which was immediately granted. The second was as gentle as the first had been passionate.

When they were done, he leaned down so his mouth was beside her ear. "I've said it in other ways, but I need to tell you in words. I love you Alice," he whispered.

If she had not been warm from head to toe before, she certainly was now. "I love you too, Hieronymous," she whispered back. And she realized it was true; this man was her present and future.

They shared another kiss before finally detaching themselves to return to their rooms. Alice felt like she was walking on air as she made her way back towards her dorm room. She was the last to arrive, as Ellen and Virginia were already in their pajamas and getting under their covers. Alice knew that she was grinning like a Cheshire cat, and they looked at her oddly as she simply kicked her shoes off before getting into her bed still fully dressed.

Her roommates stared at her a moment before sharing a knowing look with each other. Virginia simply shook her head, bemused, as she turned out the light.

...

_Thank you to those of you who have reviewed. If I know that someone is paying attention, that helps my motivation to churn more chapters out faster. :)_


End file.
